Yeah, maybe in the same context that tumors are an evolutionary defense, and malignancy being a side effect\consequence.

Speaking from experience, it would take more than what the article amuses to convince me depression is anything short of a mental cancer, propagating upon itself and killing everything it touches.

I am only here today for a lack of courage to commit to dying half a lifetime ago. I refuse to believe evolution would look upon that well.

Yeah - there's a reason for why everything exists - but it isn't necessarily a good reason.

Maybe the problem is you don't understand the meaning of the word 'theory'.

Maybe the problem is fish is realizing his climate-change-denialist schtick isn't as triggering as he hoped so he's seen an opportunity to branch out into anti-evolutionism as a classic form of trollery.

Maybe the problem is that he wants to get a reaction, any reaction, and people keep giving it to him.

He's evolving!

Oh for fucks sake no.

That just means he's going to learn to walk on land and breath air.

Air is just a theory.

Maybe hes devolving?

Doesn't help, but, sure.

Nothing does.

I was hoping that understanding the evolutionary purpose of depression would yield some insight into getting past it, but it didn't.

Here's my current explanation: humans are hard-wired to crave a sense of purpose or value. This is naturally selected for because a group of humans trying really hard to be useful to each other is much better equipped, collectively, to compete with a bunch of sociopaths all acting out of their own naked self-interest (sociopathy has its value too of course). This wiring leads to a number of unintentional consequences, including philosophy, religion, and depression. Evolution doesn't particularly care whether your need to feel useful is actually met, as long as you make your contribution and increase the spread of your genes. There's a peak of depression in young adults because they're still trying to find their niche, the specific thing they have to offer that will make them valuable to their tribe. And there's another peak later in life when people outlive their usefulness or start to feel that they haven't been rewarded for what they thought was their useful contribution. Capitalism exacerbated this effect (though it's been present all along) because it's a system of institutionalized exploitation.

But, you know, that's just my hypothesis. I haven't really tested it.

I'll agree with that. Our current social construct creates, as a side effect in great numbers, depression. That's not to say it didn't exist prior, it just means it's numbers have been amplified. And modernization and capitalism have a great deal to do with it.

That's a really interesting article, thanks Hellboy!

Depression may be advantageous to a point, but beyond that the harmful effects are so severe that they outweigh or even negate the supposed benefits. Rumination turns into obsession. Social consciousness turns into paranoia. Self-reflection turns into self-loathing. It's not great.

If you have depression and anxiety, welcome to comorbid conditions whose treatments are typically mutually exclusive and will exacerbate the condition they weren't meant to treat.

Yeah, but at least we are highly evolved.